Aahana Swrup
Mikey Madison’s performance remains one of the lasting highlights of Sean Baker’s eclectic rom-com ‘Anora.’ In the film, Madison portrays the titular role of Anora “Ani” Mikheeva, a Brooklyn-based stripper who finds herself on the precipice of living out an actual fairytale romance. At work, she meets Ivan—or Vanya—the son of a Russian oligarch, who wants a good time and has more than enough cash and influence to facilitate it. As such, it doesn’t take long for the two young individuals to make the impulsive decision to get married. However, Vanya’s parents—and their hired muscle—quickly arrive at the newlyweds’ doorstep to force them into an annulment.
As a result, before she knows it, Ani’s life spirals out of control. One of the instrumental characteristics of the protagonist that steers her toward Vanya’s orbit is her knowledge of the Russian language. Naturally, since Ani’s bilingualism has become such a notable part of her identity, it became a requirement for the actress behind the role as well.
Mikey Madison Dedicated Herself to Russian Lessons in Preparation for the Role
Mikey Madison’s road to preparation for ‘Arona’ was as challenging as it was rewarding. The actress had to consult with professionals in the sex work industry and shadow experts on the job to learn about an intrinsic part of her character. Likewise, she also trained with experts to master the physical aspect of Ani’s profession as an exotic dancer. However, amidst it all, Ani’s linguistic background remained one of the more daunting parts of her character.
In the film, Ani is a second—or even third—generation Russian-American who has an ear for the language thanks to her grandmother. While she is able to understand Russian well enough, she has some trouble speaking the language. Even so, she often speaks Russian throughout the story. Her uniquely middling handle on the language informs a crucial trait of her character as someone who feels like a perpetual outsider. Consequently, in preparation for the role, Madison had to learn the language well enough to understand the dialogues unfolding around her and also speak it with finesse to a certain degree.
Initially, the prospect of learning an entirely new language seemed intimidating to Madison. Nonetheless, she eventually bit the bullet and started taking multiple Russian classes in a week. Building up her understanding of the complex language from the ground up, the actress devoted herself to the craft. Furthermore, she also remained mindful of interacting with the language within the same confines as her character. For the same reason, Madison was mindful of maintaining a layer of imperfectness to accommodate Ani’s lack of fluency. In a conversation with Deadline, she elaborated on her process.
“I dedicated hours each day to trying to learn as much as I could and to understand what I was saying and what the other actors were saying to me,” Madison shared. “It took months and months. It was the most important thing at that time that I was doing. I dedicated my life to it.” On top of that, the actress also had to work with a dialect coach to perfect her Brooklyn accent, showcasing the other side of Ani’s cultural identity. Therefore, achieving her on-screen character’s distinct socio-linguistic impression presented quite a challenge for Madison—one that she tackled with diligent commitment.
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